1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to gaging devices and more specifically the invention relates to a profilometer for measuring and transcribing the contour of the wheel tread of a railway car and for measuring the diameter of the wheel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various devices exist in the prior art for gaging wheels of different types such as railway cars and those utilized in automobiles. U.S. Pat. No. 340,883, Apr. 27, 1886 shows a test gage for setting car wheels. In this particular gage the wheels are set precisely from a lateral spacing standpoint. U.S. Pat. No. 2,325,362 is pertinent in that it discloses a gage which is attached to a railway car wheel and which may determine the imperfections which may occur in the tread in a railway car wheel. However, the gage shown in this particular patent does not include the novel features present in the profilometer of this invention. A wear measuring arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,303, June 22, 1976 where again a gaging device is secured to the wheel itself. The present device, however, is entirely different from that disclosed in this particular reference in that the present invention relates to a profilometer which also provides for transcription of the profile onto a removable card. U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,366 is only pertinent in that it shows a device which is adapted to attach to an automobile type of wheel and will indicate out of round conditions.